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28 January 2011

"Street newspapers inspire me", wrote Prince William in his personal message for the Street News Service. Four words that made an impact in the lives of thousands of homeless vendors around the world.

The exclusive article, by-lined HRH Prince William of Wales, featured on front pages of street papers from the UK to France and from the USA to Japan. In the UK alone, vendors sold 70,000 extra copies, putting an impressive £70,000 more profit in the pockets of vendors on the streets of England, Scotland and Wales. The story contributed directly to their well-being in the cold and snowy weeks before Christmas.

Distributed by the Street News Service - the online news agency of the International Network of Street Papers (INSP) - the story reached the desks of street paper editors in all corners of the world. Over forty street papers in Europe, North America, South America and Africa ran the Prince's message in their Christmas or January editions, and more are to follow this month. Click here for a selction of article clippings.

The Street News Service's translation service made the article available in the network's different languages free of charge. It was translated into Spanish, German, Dutch, Portuguese, French, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish, Korean, Czech, Serbian and Ukrainian.

With the Prince's engagement announcement still fresh in mind, the exclusive story did also not go unnoticed in the mainstream press. British national news agency the Press Association picked up on the news and released it on its wire. Simultaneously, leading PR agency Weber Shandwick released a press release about the story that landed on the desks of thousands of media organisations across the UK and beyond.

Over 150 newspapers in the UK alone wrote about the Prince's exclusive message for the Street News Service. And after several street papers in Norway republished the article and sent out press releases, the Norwegian mainstream media quickly followed. The same happened in Germany and other European countries.

INSP's Executive Director Lisa Maclean says: "High-profile public support from someone of the stature of Prince William has proven invaluable to our street papers, with massive sales increases for vendors as a result. At the same time it has inspired readers around the world to help us speak out against poverty and homelessness."

"Our Street News Service reporters are already on the look-out for more inspirational public figures to talk to us this year. With a combined readership of over 5 million per edition, we are an important media resource, creating and promoting positive change worldwide."